Medium (TV series)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Medium | |
 Medium intertitle |
|
| Format | Drama Supernatural |
|---|---|
| Created by | Glenn Gordon Caron |
| Starring | see below |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| No. of seasons | 5 |
| No. of episodes | 95 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Running time | approx. 45 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | NBC (2005-2009) CBS (2009-) |
| Picture format | 480i (SDTV), 1080i (HDTV) |
| Original run | January 3, 2005 – present |
| External links | |
| Official website | |
Medium is an American supernatural and dramatic television series which premiered on NBC on January 3, 2005. Its focus is Allison DuBois (Patricia Arquette), who acts as a research medium for the Phoenix, Arizona district attorney's office. The show is based on experiences from self-proclaimed spiritual medium Allison DuBois, who claims to have worked with law enforcement agencies across the country in criminal investigations.
Medium was created by Glenn Gordon Caron and is produced by Picturemaker Productions and Grammnet Productions in association with CBS Television Studios, originally known as Paramount Television and CBS Paramount Television.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
Allison DuBois (Patricia Arquette) is a strong-willed mother of three, a devoted wife and law student who has had the gift of being able to talk to dead people, as well as foresee events, read minds, and witness past events in her dreams. When she begins working for the Phoenix District Attorney, Devalos, she has a dream which relates to a murder in Texas, which convinces her boss and others working in the DA's office that her gift is real.
The real challenge is initially convincing her boss, D.A. Devalos (Miguel Sandoval) — and subsequently the other doubters in the criminal justice system — that her psychic abilities can give them the upper hand when it comes to solving violent and horrifying crimes, whose mysteries often reside with those who lie beyond the grave. Information on certain people or crimes come to her in dreams or visions in cryptic forms, and often do not mean what they seem to.
All of her daughters appear to have inherited Allison's gift, with Ariel (Sofia Vassilieva) and Bridgette (Maria Lark) also having visions or dreams, which usually occur when their mother is in a bind in searching for answers to her own dreams. In Season 3, Allison's youngest daughter, Marie (Madison and Miranda Carabello), begins also have a paranormal inclination. Currently, she has only been shown to watch a premium TV channel that the family does not subscribe to, as well as reading the mind of her optometrist in order to pass her sight test, and unknowingly using paper dolls to predict the future of her father's company. In Season 5, Marie had her first "dream", where she saw herself on stage with stage fright during her school's play. In earlier seasons, Bridgette never appears to be bothered by her abilities, but during season 4 she has some moments of frustration either understanding her visions or communicating them to her parents. Ariel usually has a harder time trying to cope with a gift she knows very little about.
Allison's younger half brother, Michael "Lucky", has the family gift too, but doesn't like to acknowledge it much, since it always seems to bring him trouble.
Initially Allison believed the gift had skipped a generation and her mother had had no psychic abilities. However, she later discovered that her mother had always possessed the gift, but had done everything she could to repress it.
The second season episode "Sweet Child O'Mine" revealed that Allison and Joe's first child miscarried, a boy they named Bryan. In this episode Allison dreamed of Bryan as if he had never died and had grown up as part of the family.
Allison is often accompanied by Det. Lee Scanlon (David Cubitt), who initially did not believe in her "gift." Allison often bends the rules of the law when she is determined to stop a crime from happening about which she's had a vision. Additionally, Allison has helped and been helped by Captain Kenneth Push of the Texas Rangers (Arliss Howard), who is the first law-enforcement person to whom Allison revealed her gift and Cynthia Keener (Anjelica Huston) of AmeriTips. In season four, it was revealed that Cynthia had a daughter who was missing. After days of searching it had come to the attention of Alison and Cynthia that she was dead. Cynthia made a choice to kill the murderer of her daughter and do time in jail. Keener appeares in season five to help Alison on a case for the D.A. It was said that Cynthia has a couple more months to go before she was able to get parole.
[edit] Main/Recurring Cast
| Actor/Actress | Character | Role | Notes | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patricia Arquette | Allison DuBois | The Medium | Protagonist | Season 1 - present |
| Jake Weber | Joe DuBois | Engineer | Allison's husband | |
| Miguel Sandoval | Manuel Devalos | District Attorney of Phoenix (Season 1-3, 4.16-) Advocate (Season 4.1-4.15) |
Allison's boss | |
| Sofia Vassilieva | Ariel DuBois | A young medium | Eldest DuBois daughter | |
| Maria Lark | Bridgette DuBois | A young medium | Middle DuBois daughter | |
| Madison and Miranda Carabello | Marie DuBois | A young medium | Youngest DuBois daughter | |
| David Cubitt | Lee Scanlon | Detective | Allison's coworker | Season 1 (recurring), Season 2 - present |
| Tina DiJoseph | Lynn DiNovi | Mayor's Liaison, later Deputy Mayor | Lee's girlfriend | Season 1 - present (recurring) |
| Ryan Hurst | Michael "Lucky" Benoit | — | Allison's half-brother | Season 1 - 3 (recurring) |
| Arliss Howard | Kenneth Push | Captain of the Texas Rangers | — | Season 1 - 3 (recurring) |
| Holliston Coleman | Hannah | — | Ariel's best friend | Season 1 - present (recurring) |
| Bruce Gray | Mr. Dubois | Joe's father | Ghost | Season 1 - 5 (recurring) |
| Kathy Baker | Mrs. Dubois | Joe's mother | — | Season 1 - 4 (recurring) |
| Kurtwood Smith | Edward Cooper | FBI Agent | Allison's occasional antagonist | Season 3 - 5 (recurring) |
| Anjelica Huston | Cynthia Keener | AmeriTips investigator | Allison's employer | Season 4 - 5 (Recurring\Present) |
[edit] Main Crew
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Executive Producers:
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Principal Writers:
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Principal Directors:
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[edit] Notable guest stars
[edit] Reception
[edit] Ratings
The series premiere received 16.13 million viewers and a 6.3 rating in the 18-49 demo against CSI: Miami's 18.17 million and 6.6 rating.[1] Medium was a consistent performer throughout its first season and landed in the Nielsen Top 20 with an average of 13.9 million viewers.[2] The series remained in its original time slot for the second season when the network announced its Fall 2005 schedule. Throughout the season, the series experienced a decline in viewership, pulling an average of 11 million viewers.[3] Medium was renewed for a third season in April 2006,[4] but was missing from NBC's Fall 2006 schedule. The series was slated to return in early 2007; however, in October it was announced that production would resume immediately for a third season start-up on November 15, 2006, replacing the time slot vacated by Kidnapped.[5] Its move to the Wednesday time slot opposite CBS' CSI: NY and ABC's Lost lead to some ratings erosion, in comparison to the ratings success of the first two seasons, with year-end ratings for the third season dipping into single-digit millions of viewers.[6][7] Despite the ratings decline on Wednesdays, the series was seen by the network as a reliable self-starter, building on its then lead-in Crossing Jordan.[8] The ratings decline put the series on the bubble for renewal, but the series showed signs of life when NBC requested six additional scripts in April 2007.[7]
Renewal for a fourth season of Medium was announced on May 7, 2007, with an undetermined premiere date and number of episodes.[9] It was the seventh series to be renewed by the network, behind solid performers Heroes and Law & Order: SVU.[8] One week later, the network announced that Medium would move to the Sunday 9 p.m. time slot upon its return in January 2008.[10] News on the series' return did not come until December 2007 when NBC announced that the fourth season would begin in January in its original Monday 10 p.m. time slot,[11] despite the WGA Strike of 2007, which forced the show to cease production, allowing for only nine segments/episodes to be filmed.[12] Scheduling returning mid-season shows in timeslots where they were previously successful was a pattern for NBC during the strike: Law & Order returned to Wednesdays at 10 and The Apprentice was back on Thursdays at 9:00 p.m.[13]
With the ratings improvement Medium demonstrated in its fourth season after returning to Mondays, it was one of the first series to be renewed in an early announcement in April 2008 from NBC regarding its 2008-09 season.[14] Similar to the previous season, Medium was initially scheduled to move to the Sunday night line-up; however, a December 2008 press release revealed that the fifth season would air in the series' original Monday night 10 p.m. time slot.[15]
After some ratings erosion during its fifth season, NBC renewed Medium for an abridged sixth season in early May 2009.[16] However, within a week negotiations stalled over episode count[17] and subsequently NBC decided not to renew the series despite the fact that it outperforms some of the network's renewed shows.[18] Within 24 hours of NBC's cancellation, CBS, whose production arm produces the series, renewed the show for a full, 22-episode, sixth season,[19] placing it in the Friday at 9:00 p.m. slot between fellow CBS in-house productions Ghost Whisperer and Numb3rs.[20] The first episode of the sixth season will air on Friday, September 25, 2009 at 9pm.[21]
[edit] Seasonal ratings/broadcast history
Seasonal rankings (based on average total viewers per episode) of Medium.
Note: Each U.S. network television season generally starts in late September and ends in late May (except for the fifth season), which coincides with the completion of May sweeps. Times mentioned in this section are in Eastern Time.
| Season | Network | Time slot | Season premiere | Season finale | Episode count |
TV season | Season rank |
Viewers (in millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NBC | Monday 10:00 pm | January 3, 2005 | May 23, 2005 | 16 | 2005 | #19 | 13.9[2] |
| 2 | September 19, 2005 | May 22, 2006 | 22 | 2005-2006 | #35 | 11.2[3] | ||
| 3 | Wednesday 10:00 pm | November 15, 2006 | May 16, 2007 | 22 | 2006-2007 | #61 | 8.5[6] | |
| 4 | Monday 10:00 pm | January 7, 2008 | May 12, 2008 | 16 | 2007-2008 | #41 | 10.4[22] | |
| 5 | February 2, 2009 | June 1, 2009 | 19 | 2008-2009 | #61 | 8.5[23] | ||
| 6 | CBS | Friday 9:00 pm | September 25, 2009 | TBA | 22 | 2009-2010 | — | — |
The series began a syndication run on the cable network Lifetime on March 26, 2006.
[edit] Awards
| Year | Group | Award | Result | Recipient(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | BMI Film & TV Awards | BMI TV Music Award | Won | Mychael Danna, Jeff Beal |
| Emmy Award | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series | Won | Patricia Arquette | |
| Imagen Foundation Awards | Best Actor - Television | Nominated | Miguel Sandoval | |
| Satellite Award | Outstanding Actress in a Series, Drama | Nominated | Patricia Arquette | |
| Outstanding Actor in a Series, Drama | Nominated | Jake Weber | ||
| 2006 | ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards | ASCAP Award - Top TV Series | Won | Sean Callery |
| Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films | Saturn Award - Best Actress in a Television Program | Nominated | Patricia Arquette | |
| Golden Globes | Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama | Nominated | Patricia Arquette | |
| Motion Picture Sound Editors | Golden Reel Award - Best Sound Editing in Television Short Form - Music | Won | Robert Cotnoir (music editor) For "The Song Remains the Same" | |
| Screen Actors Guild | Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series | Nominated | Patricia Arquette | |
| Young Artist Awards | Best Performance in a TV Series (Drama) - Supporting Young Actress | Won | Sofia Vassilieva | |
| Best Performance in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama) - Young Actress Age Ten or Younger | Nominated | Maria Lark | ||
| 2007 | ALMA Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actor - Television Series, Mini-Series or Television Movie | Nominated | Miguel Sandoval |
| Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films | Saturn Award - Best Actress in a Television Program | Nominated | Patricia Arquette | |
| Emmy Award | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series | Nominated | Patricia Arquette | |
| Golden Globes | Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama | Nominated | Patricia Arquette | |
| Screen Actors Guild | Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series | Nominated | Patricia Arquette | |
| 2008 | Golden Globes | Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama | Nominated | Patricia Arquette |
| Emmy Award | Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series | Nominated | Anjelica Huston |
[edit] DVD releases
| Season | Ep # | Discs | Releases dates | Bonus material (Region 1) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region 1 | Region 2 (UK) | Region 2 (GER) | ||||
| 1 | 16 | 5 | June 13, 2006 | August 14, 2006 | November 2, 2006 | Extended "Pilot", "The Making of Medium", "The Story of Medium" |
| 2 | 22 | 6 | October 3, 2006 | July 9, 2007 | September 6, 2007 | Deleted scenes, "The Story of Medium Season 2", "Medium in Another Dimension", "A Day in the Life of the Dubois Daughters", The Museum of Television and Radio Q&A with Cast and Creative Team, gag reel, audio commentary |
| 3 | 22 | 6 | October 16, 2007 | July 7, 2008 | November 6, 2008 | Deleted scenes, featurettes, audio commentary |
| 4 | 16 | 4 | September 9, 2008 | June 15, 2009 | September 3, 2009 | Deleted scenes with commentary by Glenn Gordon Caron and Larry Teng, "Joe's Crayon Dream", "Introducing Cynthia Keener", "The Making of Medium season 4", Gag reel |
| 5 | 19 | 5 | October 6, 2009[24] | TBA | TBA | Deleted scenes with commentary, "The Making of Medium Season 5", gag reel, audio commentaries |
[edit] References
- ^ "NBC's Debut Of 'Medium' Sees 'Live People'--Lots of 'Em, As CBS Wins Monday". MediaPost. http://www.mediapost.com/publications/index.cfm?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=26037. Retrieved on 2009-05-06.
- ^ a b "2004-05 Primetime Wrap". Hollywood Reporter.com. May 27, 2005. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/television/feature_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000937471.
- ^ a b "2005-06 Primetime Wrap". Hollywood Reporter.com. May 26, 2006. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002576393.
- ^ "Three More NBC Series Get the Call - 'Vegas', 'Medium,' 'Jordan' all renewed for '06-'07". Zap2It.com. http://www.zap2it.com/tv/news/zap-nbcpickups0428,0,2174122.story. Retrieved on 2009-01-28.
- ^ "Medium and 3 lb. Set November Premiers". Zap2It.com. http://www.zap2it.com/tv/news/zap-medium3lbspremieres,0,2513622.story. Retrieved on 2008-03-09.
- ^ a b "2006-07 primetime wrap". HollywoodReporter.com. May 25, 2007. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/features/e3ifbfdd1bcb53266ad8d9a71cad261604f.
- ^ a b "A Good Omen for Medium - No pickup yet, but NBC asks for more scripts". Zap2It.com. http://www.zap2it.com/tv/news/zap-nbcordersextramediumscripts,0,965262.story?coll=zap-tv-headlines. Retrieved on 2008-03-09.
- ^ a b "NBC Foresees Medium Renewal - Show gets fourth season in 2007-08". Zap2It.com. http://www.zap2it.com/tv/news/zap-nbcrenewsmediumfor2007-08,0,5057928.story. Retrieved on 2008-03-09.
- ^ "Prime-time Premonition: NBC Brings Back Medium". TVGuide.com. http://community.tvguide.com/blog-entry/TVGuide-Editors-Blog/Todays-News/Primetime-Premonition-Nbc/800014444. Retrieved on 2007-05-07.
- ^ "NBC Has Flair for the Dramatic". Zap2It.com. http://www.zap2it.com/tv/news/zap-nbc2007-08schedule,0,4680646.story. Retrieved on 2008-03-09.
- ^ "NBC Slots 'Medium,' Firms Up Schedule". Zap2It.com. http://www.zap2it.com/tv/news/zap-nbcschedule-mediumpremieredate,0,2251811.story. Retrieved on 2008-03-09.
- ^ "Strike Chart". TVGuide.com. http://community.tvguide.com/blog-entry/TVGuide-Editors-Blog/Ausiello-Report/Strike-Chart-Long/800026937. Retrieved on 2007-11-09.
- ^ "NBC Rolls Out a Full Slate of Original Programming for the First Quarter of 2008". thefutoncritic.com. http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news.aspx?id=20071206nbc01. Retrieved on 2007-12-06.
- ^ "NBC Fall Lineup 08/09". TVGuide.com. http://community.tvguide.com/blog-entry/TVGuide-Editors-Blog/Ausiello-Report/Nbc-Fall-Schedule/800036704. Retrieved on 2008-04-02.
- ^ "NBC Kicks-off a Post-Super Bowl Primetime Schedule with New Mid-season Series Premieres, Popular Series Returns, the "ER" Series Finale and an Original Movie Event". nbcumv.com. http://nbcumv.com/entertainment/release_detail.nbc/entertainment-20081203000000-nbckicks45offa.html. Retrieved on 2008-12-03.
- ^ "Fall TV: NBC Sizes Up Medium for a Sixth Season". TVGuide.com. http://www.tvguide.com/News/Fall-TV-Medium-1005702.aspx. Retrieved on 2009-04-03.
- ^ "'Medium' may go to CBS". Hollywoodreporter.com. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i9ffdbbfa915bd89c8dc2233737eba532. Retrieved on 2009-05-17.
- ^ "CBS & NBC Feud Over 'Medium' Win/Loss". Deadlinehollywooddaily.com. http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/cbs-nbc-feud-over-medium-winloss/. Retrieved on 2009-05-20.
- ^ "You'll Be Channeling CBS to See 'Medium' This Fall, and NBC Is Spooked". Washington Post.com. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/20/AR2009052003381.html?hpid=artsliving. Retrieved on 2009-05-21.
- ^ "CBS Announces 2009-2010 Schedule". TVbytheNumbers.com. http://tvbythenumbers.com/2009/05/20/cbs-announces-2009-2010-schedule/19145. Retrieved on 2009-05-20.
- ^ "Fall TV: CBS Announces Premiere Dates". TVGuide.com. http://www.tvguide.com/News/FallTV-CBS-premieres-1007227.aspx. Retrieved on June 24, 2009.
- ^ "Season 3 Program Rankings" (PDF). ABCMedianet.com. http://abcmedianet.com/DNR/2008/pdf/dnr052808.pdf. Retrieved on 2008-06-02.
- ^ "Season 4 Program Rankings". ABCMedianet.com. http://abcmedianet.com/web/dnr/dispDNR.aspx?id=060209_05. Retrieved on 2009-06-02.
- ^ "The 5th Season DVD Set is Announced: Date, Specs and Package Art". TVShowsOnDVD.com. http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Medium-Season-5/12293. Retrieved on 2009-07-13.
